Tray sealing machine

ABSTRACT

A tray sealing machine comprising an upper tool which can be laterally moved out of the tray sealing machine from a working position into a second position for maintenance and cleaning purposes, wherein the upper tool may be pivotable in the second position so as to improve accessibility to a bottom of the tool for maintenance and cleaning. The tray sealing machine may also include a lower tool that can be laterally moved out of the tray sealing machine from a working position into a second position for maintenance and cleaning purposes, wherein the lower tool is additionally pivotable in the second position so as to improve the accessibility during cleaning.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority to German Application Number 102011113968.4 filed Sep. 21, 2011 to Alexander Kult entitled “Tray Sealing Machine,” currently pending, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a tray sealing machine, comprising an upper tool which can be laterally moved out of the tray sealing machine from a working position into a second position for maintenance and cleaning.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A tool change carriage for a technical apparatus, e.g. a tray sealing machine, is disclosed in DE 20 2006 010 803 U1. An upper tool of the sealing station can be pushed out of the tray sealing machine onto the tool change carriage on rails which are provided in the tray sealing machine and on the tool change carriage.

Existing tray sealing machines include upper and lower tools that are usually moved apart to permit the operator, once the corresponding protective hood is opened, access to the tools outside of the machine to clean and service them. Product residues on the upper tool fall down onto the lower tool or into other areas of the machine then the upper tool is washed off or hosed down. Similar problems exist when the lower tray is washed off or hosed down, the residue falls into and onto other components or areas of the machine or to the floor within the machine housing which is usually not accessible for cleaning.

Thus, there is a need in the art for a tray sealing machine that allows the upper and/or the lower trays to be laterally removed from the tray sealing device to be cleaned. There is a further need in the art for the upper and/or lower trays to be pivotable so that access to the surface to be cleaned is more readily provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to improve the effectiveness and ease in which a tool of a tray sealing machine is cleaned or maintained.

This object is achieved by a tray sealing machine according to the present invention. One embodiment of the present tray sealing machine includes a sealing tool having an upper tool and a lower tool to seal a tray being conveyed into the sealing tool in a production direction with a cover film, wherein the upper tool can be moved out of the tray sealing machine from a working position into a second position, and wherein the upper tool can be pivoted in the second position for maintenance and cleaning purposes. This allows an ergonomic cleaning of the upper tool in an easy way, without the utilization of a tool change carriage. The handling of the machine is improved by maintaining the connection of the upper tool to the machine even in the pivoted position.

Preferably, the second position is provided so far outside the tray sealing machine that the upper tool is positioned laterally, entirely outside of the tray sealing machine in this position. The term “laterally” means “transversely to the direction of production of the tray sealing machine”. This allows product residues washed off from the upper tool to drop onto the hall floor, thereby missing the machine, e.g. the lower tool and other machine components.

In one embodiment, the upper tool can be pivoted by at least 45 degrees in its second position, preferably by 90 degrees, in particular about a horizontal axis. This allows an optimized accessibility and improves the visual inspection by the cleaning staff.

In another embodiment, the lower tool may be laterally moved out of the tray sealing machine from a working position into a second position, wherein the lower tool can be pivoted in its second position to allow the cleaning of the lower tool, too, such that the product residues do not fall into the machine, but can be washed off onto the hall floor, and easily collected and discarded.

In a related embodiment, it is advantageous if the lower tool can be pivoted by at least 90 degrees, and preferably about 180 degrees, about a horizontal axis, so as to facilitate and improve the access to the surfaces of the lower tool for cleaning the upper side of the lower tool.

In another embodiment, the upper tool and/or the lower tool can be set down on rails, thereby allowing the upper tool or the lower tool to be automatically removed from the machine frame or a lifting gear and set down onto the rails subsequently. The operator or the cleaning staff can, subsequently, move the upper tool or the lower tool manually.

The rails may be provided in the tray sealing machine in a detachable manner with a fixed length, thereby allowing for a less complicated production process.

According to another embodiment, the rails can be laterally extended, e.g. telescopically, out of the tray sealing machine so as to render the process easier for the operator as he/she need not provide any additional machine elements for cleaning purposes.

According to another embodiment, the upper tool and/or the lower tool can be pivoted from a working position into the second position.

In addition, a clamping device may be provided at an end of a rail so as to lock the upper tool or the lower tool in a pivoted position, which facilitates the cleaning process.

Finally, the upper tool or the lower tool can be removed from the second position for a change of the tool, wherein such removal may be carried out after a cleaning process.

Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like or similar parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a tray sealing machine in accordance the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of one embodiment of a tray sealing machine in accordance with the teachings of the present invention showing an upper tool being in a working position;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the embodiment of the tray sealing machine of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of one embodiment of a tray sealing machine in accordance with the teachings of the present invention with an upper tool being in a position in which it is set down on rails;

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of the embodiment of the tray sealing machine of FIG. 4, showing the upper tool being in a second position,

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of the embodiment of the tray sealing machine of FIG. 4, showing the upper tool being in a pivoted position, and

FIG. 7 is a front sectional view of one embodiment of a tray sealing machine in accordance with the teachings of the present invention showing a pivotally conveyed upper tool.

Like components are designated with like reference numbers throughout the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.

FIG. 1 shows a tray sealing machine 1, comprising a sealing station 2 in which non-illustrated trays are sealed with a cover film 3 A gripper system 4 having two gripper arms 5 is provided to convey trays in a direction of production P from a feeding conveyor 6 into the sealing station 2. After the sealing process in the sealing station 2 the sealed trays are transported out of the sealing station 2 by means of the gripper system 4, are placed down on a withdrawal belt 7 and conveyed to further process steps.

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of a tray sealing machine 1 according to the invention, comprising a sealing station 2 which includes an upper tool 10 and a lower tool 11. The upper tool 10 is positioned on a support frame 12 in the working position. The lower tool 11 is positioned on a lifting gear 13 in the working position. Rails 14 are fixed to the machine frame 15 in a pluggable manner by means of bolts 16.

The sectional side view of FIG. 3 shows that a telescopic rail 14 is mounted on each machine frame 15 underneath the upper tool 10 and the support frame 12, respectively. The rail 14 has a shoulder 16, which is adapted to prevent the lower side 17 of the upper tool 10 from pivoting or turning about a pivot pin 18, thereby maintaining the horizontal position of the upper tool 10 during a movement along the rail 14.

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment wherein the upper tool 10 has been lowered from a working position by the lower tool 11 using the lifting gear 13, the upper tool 10 being separated from the support frame 12 subsequently and moved downwards such that the pivot pins 18 rests on the rails 14. The lifting gear 13 transfers the lower tool 11 into its working position. A stop 19 is provided on the rail 14 at a first end, preventing an unintended movement of upper tool 10 backwards (to the left in the drawing). A stop 20 is located at a second, outer end of the rail 14. The stop defines the second position or pivot position S.

Also, a clamping device 21 is provided at this outer end of the rail 14, which is pivotable so as to be capable of locking the pivot pin 18 in the second position or pivot position S, respectively, once it has been reached, as is shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 shows the upper tool 10, which is pivoted about a horizontal pivot axis counterclockwise so as to make the lower side 17 of the upper tool 10 accessible by the operator. The pivot axis is here the axis of the pivot pin 18. This axis can run through the center of mass of the upper tool 10. The upper tool 10 can be locked in any desired position by the clamping device 21.

When the upper tool 10 is in the second position S and if the clamping device 21 is pivoted outwardly as shown in FIG. 4 to release the pivot pin 18, the upper tool 10 may lifted off the rails 14 and transferred to a non-illustrated tool change carriage from this position.

FIG. 7 shows a modification of a tray sealing machine 1 according to the invention, in which the upper tool 10 can be pivotally conveyed by pivot arms 22 from a working position on the support frame 12, transversely to the direction of production P, out of the tray sealing machine 1 to the second position. The pivot arms 22 may be fixed to the machine frame 15. In one embodiment, the pivot arm 22 is detachably connected to the pivot pin 18 of the upper tool 10, so that a conventional tool change by means of a tool change carriage is also possible.

Analogously to the illustrated movability of the upper tool 10 into a second position or pivot position S, at which the upper tool 10 is pivotable, a person of skill in the art will appreciate that the teachings above applied to the upper tool 10 may also be applied similarly to the lower tool 11. To this end, telescopic rails or pivot arms as described above, may also be provided to allow the displacement of the lower tool 11 from its working position into a second position at the side of, preferably outside of, the tray sealing machine 1. The connection of the lower tool 11 to the tray sealing machine 1 in this second position is maintained by the rails or the pivot arms, respectively, and the lower tool 11 can be pivoted into an easily accessible orientation, in particular rotated about a horizontal axis, for maintenance and cleaning purposes at the second position.

For both the upper tool 10 and the lower tool 11, the maximum pivot angle may be limited to any maximum angle, for example, to about forty five degrees (45°)or to about ninety degrees (90°). However, a pivoting range of about a full three hundred sixty degrees (360°) is within the scope of the present invention. A preferred embodiment includes the upper and/or lower tools 10 and 11 having a pivoting range of about one hundred eighty degrees (180°).

The constructions and methods described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the concepts and principles of the present invention. Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a novel invention. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present construction will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A tray sealing machine comprising: a sealing tool having an upper tool and a lower tool configured to seal a conveyed tray with a cover film, wherein the upper tool is moveable from an upper working position into an upper second position, and wherein the upper tool is pivotable while at the upper second position.
 2. The tray sealing machine according to claim 1, wherein the upper second position is laterally outside of the tray sealing machine.
 3. The tray sealing machine according to claim 1 further comprising at least two rails, the rails being operably connected to the tray sealing machine, and wherein the upper tool is moveable to engage at least two rails.
 4. The tray sealing machine according to claim 3 wherein the rails are laterally extendable to convey the upper tool from the upper working position to the upper second position.
 5. The tray sealing machine according to claim 1 wherein the upper tool is pivotable in a range of at least forty five (45) degrees in the upper second position.
 6. The tray sealing machine according to claim 5 wherein the upper tool is pivotable in a range of about ninety (90) degrees.
 7. The tray sealing machine according to claim 1 further including at least one pivot arm operably connected to the upper tool and the tray sealing machine, wherein the upper tool pivots on the at least one pivot arm from the upper working position to the upper second position.
 8. Tray sealing machine according claim 7 wherein the pivot arms are operably connected to a machine frame of the tray sealing machine.
 9. The tray sealing machine according to claim 1 wherein the lower tool is moveable from a lower working position into a lower second position, wherein the lower second position of the lower tool is located laterally outside of the tray sealing machine, and wherein the lower tool is pivotable while at the lower second position.
 10. The tray sealing machine according to claim 9 wherein the lower tool is pivotable in a range of at least ninety (90) degrees in the lower second position.
 11. The tray sealing machine according to claim 10 wherein the lower tool is pivotable in a range of about one hundred eighty (180) degrees.
 12. The tray sealing machine according to claim 9 further comprising at least two rails, the rails being operably connected to the tray sealing machine and wherein at least one of the upper tool and the lower tool are moveable to engage the at least two rails.
 13. The tray sealing machine according to claim 12 wherein at the least two rails are detachable from the tray sealing machine.
 14. The tray sealing machine according to claim 12 wherein the rails are laterally extendable outside of the tray sealing machine.
 15. Tray sealing machine according to claim 12 wherein the rails include a clamping device at one end wherein the clamping device is operable to lock the at least one of the upper tool and the lower tool in a pivoted position.
 16. The tray sealing machine according to claim 9 wherein the at least one of the upper tool and the lower tool is pivotally conveyed from the working position to the second position.
 17. The tray sealing machine according to claim 16 further including at least two pivot arms operably connected to the tray sealing machine and operably connected to the at least one of the upper tool and the lower tool.
 18. The tray sealing machine according to claim 17 wherein the pivot arms are operably connected to a machine frame of the tray sealing machine
 19. The tray sealing machine according to claim 9 wherein the at least one of the upper tool and the lower tool can be removed in the second position. 